[ Congratulations! The target's resistance gauge has decreased by 15%! ]
[ The target's acceptance gauge has increased by 20%! ]
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Target: [ Seraphina Duskbane - Blood Empress ]
Resistance: 35%
Acceptance: 60%
Available paths: [ Please reach an acceptance rate of 100% in order to choose a path ]
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The gauges had returned to normal and had even increased, which was to his advantage. Thanks to that, he finally understood the system's note about interactions and intimacy, which tipped the balance in his favor. Now that he had set up a barrier to prevent Seraphina from jumping on him all the time, he needed to maximize their exchanges and get to know her better.
After their little talk, Seraphina had felt safe enough to rest on him a second time, and soon she woke up.
"Did you sleep well?" asked Aelion.
"Yes, I feel much better. We should now make sure the day's program is going smoothly. Quickly, to the training room!" she said with a yawn.
Seraphina stood up, stretching her entire body to remove the stiffness that was setting into her limbs. Aelion followed her immediately; the two of them arrived in the training room. He was thinking about what configuration would be best suited for the kind of training she wanted him to go through.
Pressing the square plate, he finally chose an empty area without any mannequins and added a few elements of biodiversity. It looked like a small forest. The place also suited the vampire perfectly, who gave him an "okay" with her fingers. Quickly, the two of them settled in the middle of the little forest — Aelion sitting on the ground, while Seraphina sat on a chair resembling a throne that she had materialized so easily it surprised him.
"What shall we start with? Hmm… Why not magic and mana? My specialty, by the way!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.
Since he had no objections, she began her lesson.
"I'm all yours, Professor Seraphina!"
"Good!"
Listening carefully as Seraphina explained, he understood many things. Mana is a type of spiritual energy omnipresent in nature, forming the basis of the supernatural phenomena known as magic. Almost everyone could use magic, even certain creatures or specific animals — unless they were conditioned to use only aura, which was reserved for warriors and knights.
"So, mana is kind of like fuel? Wait, let me rephrase that… Mana is essential to produce what we call the effect of magic?" he concluded.
"More or less, that's right. Now, let's move on to elements or attributes."
There is an indefinite number of elemental affinities. However, four main ones are noted: water, earth, fire, and air — to which are added those that express the world's polarity: light and darkness, which are very rare. Those who manage to master their affinities perfectly can unlock certain derivatives such as ice, thunder, lava, metal, or sand. Obtaining an element or one of its derivatives doesn't depend solely on mastery, but also on the relationship, the bond, and the similarities one shares with that element. It's deeply connected to the soul.
Sometimes, certain mages don't develop the basic element but directly gain access to its derivative as an affinity. These are exceptions, just like the fact that an element can be influenced by family lineage, or diverge due to a strong personality or the potential of the soul.
Moreover, beyond the world of elemental affinities, there exists a whole range of others, such as sensory, extra-sensory, material, or metaphysical affinities. Seraphina couldn't list them all, despite being an expert.
Learning more about this at least allowed him to reflect on his own case — because he had two: black blood and primordial darkness. Since he hadn't awakened them himself, would his true affinity ever manifest? Or had these two elements prevented that possibility by taking their place?
"And what about cases where someone has two? I'm in that situation," asked Aelion, puzzled.
"As I told you, exceptions in affinity are expressed in the realm of the infinite. Though rare, or very rare, there are even those with all four basic elements. I've never seen a mage with contradictory elements like light and darkness. But show me," said Seraphina, curious.
Aelion had never tried to manifest his affinities. He feared he might lose control, but it was surprisingly easy: everything followed his will, except for the darkness, which proved much more stubborn. In his right hand, Dark blood flowed down his palm, covering his entire arm and forming claws, while the darkness condensed into a perfect black sphere.
Seraphina approached, examining both carefully, then sat back down.
"That's quite interesting. I've never seen a human with an affinity for primordial darkness, let alone combined with a never-before-seen blood derivative," she admitted.
"Really?"
"Truly. When you were attacked by that reaper, I was afraid that the means I used to save you would turn you into a vampire. By using blood during our fight, I thought I had converted you, but it seems I was wrong. As for darkness, I don't know much — only that primordial elements are ancient and tend to try to take over, to restore the world to the principles tied to them. I'll do some research, and you should too, to understand it better. I really doubt you have a natural affinity for it." She shook her head in satisfaction, proud of having preached her knowledge and impressed him.
"And what about my true affinity, then?" he added.
"No idea. If you had been turned into a vampire, your affinity would have manifested as a blood-based derivative. We could have deduced something from that. However, in this case, either your element was killed in the egg by one of the ones you awakened, or it will appear later as a third."
What Seraphina explained was fairly simple. She used the example of a fire mage turned into a vampire: his affinity would change, and his element would become consistent with his race — blood.
Even so, since his soul remained intact, the fire element would find a way to express itself as a derivative, allowing him to use blood flames or explosive blood. Following that logic, she took the opportunity to explain how blood, for her, had become both versatile and multifaceted.
"Wait, if I understand correctly, you could use several types of blood?"
"Yes, I'd say derivatives. I could use poisonous blood, frozen blood, even the blood flames I told you about."
"How is that possible?" exclaimed Aelion, eager to know the reason.
"If you really want to know, every drop of blood I've ever drunk since my transformation is contained in my body. For vampires, blood carries a portion of the soul and vital energy. Imagine that every portion of those souls I've siphoned off expresses itself…" Her expression quickly turned somber and shameful. "I'm currently the only one capable of such a feat."
Aelion knew she wasn't proud of what she had done. At least she was opening up and confiding in him, even if she held back from revealing everything — and that allowed him to gather valuable information.
"One question — what rank were you at your prime?"
"Oh, that? At the peak of rank SS," announced the vampiress proudly.
I knew it.
After listening to her explanations and experiencing how deep her knowledge ran, it was impossible for him to imagine she was only rank B. That meant that, at her peak, she could have obliterated UGAEL effortlessly.
"I suspected as much."
"Oh really? Unfortunately, I regressed after my death and lost certain connections with my element."
And that's for the best — at least for now, Seraphina whispered to herself.
Sitting on the grass, Aelion was already trying to absorb what little he could before Seraphina announced the next step.
"Enough digression. Now, we'll work on the basic skills you need to have, as well as forming your mana core… I warn you, it can be hard. I hope you have a good imagination."
"Imagination?" asked Aelion, confused.
"Yes, you see, there's one extremely important thing when it comes to using magic: imagination!" retorted Seraphina excitedly. She looked as if she had been waiting for this part of her own lesson.